Deciding whether or not to engage with an Online Program Manager (OPM) for an online program is an important institutional consideration. This session details a case study of how UCF decided against otsourcing with an and OPM and instead chose to "insource" and grow internal capacity.
Four years ago, the University of Central Florida (UCF) was in the process of launching a completely revised version of its Virtual Campus, now called UCF Online. At the time, the administration was evaluating proposals from several Online Program Management (OPM) partners. After a comprehensive assessment, it was decided that UCF should instead "insource" its relaunch of UCF Online.
The university had some unique assets, including a mature instructional design and online course delivery organization, an existing catalog of online programs (both undergraduate, graduate, and certificate), and a successful track record of serving non-traditional students through its popular DirectConnect to UCF transfer program. By combining these existing assets, and developing others, the university believed that they could achieve the same outcomes as with a commercial partner, except without the potential loss of control and revenue.
Two key areas that needed to be developed included intentional student services (success coaching, enrollment coaching, and inquiry management) and online program marketing and advertising. The university invested some start-up funds in an interim budget model to launch the program and this capacity was developed. Some key consulting assistance was engaged to get the program off the ground, especially related to success coaching.
After three years, the program has enrolled more than 5,000 students, exceeding both targets and expectations. Additionally, UCF Online students are retaining, persisting, and succeeding at levels similar to or better than other comparable students.
This session will describe the considerations that UCF used to determine whether to insource or outsource, and position that process as one that can be used by other institutions faced with the same decision. We will share the budget process, the lessons learned, and the results of our "insourcing" strategy.